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Wednesday, 5 July 2017

Strawberry Eclairs

With Wimbledon in full swing, why not make these eclairs for a treat while you're enjoying the match!

Ingredients
(makes 10-12)

plain flour 150g

caster sugar 1 tbsp

unsalted butter 75g, plus more for the tray

milk 75ml, plus a splash extra

eggs 4, 3 lightly beaten and 1 yolk only

double cream

icing sugar

strawberries 5, hulled and sliced

freeze-dried strawberries crushed to decorate
(optional)

strawberries 2 big or 4 small

icing sugar 200g

Method

STEP 1 - Heat the oven
to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Sift the flour into a bowl. Put the sugar, butter and
milk in a pan with 125ml water and bring to the boil. Take the pan off the
heat, pour in the flour and beat the mixture until it turns into a smooth,
thick panade (pastry dough) that comes away from the side of the pan. Tip this
into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat it for a couple of minutes to cool it down
a bit, otherwise the eggs might cook when you add them.

STEP 2 - Add the whole
eggs, gradually (the mixture should be thick enough to hold it’s shape so you
may not need all the egg) beating all the time, don’t worry if the mixture
looks as if it has split, it will come back. Scrape the mix into a piping bag
fitted with a plain round nozzle about 1½ cm wide and pipe éclairs about 12cm
long onto your baking sheet, spacing them well apart. Beat the yolk with a
splash of milk and paint a wide stripe of egg wash down the top of each éclair.

STEP 3 - Bake for 50
minutes or until the éclairs are completely dry, the best way of checking is to
cut one in half horizontally when you think they are done. If they are still
soggy they will collapse when they cool. Cool completely.

STEP 4 - make the
icing, squash the strawberries and add a couple of tbsp icing sugar and mash
everything together well, leave it for 5 minutes. Push the lot through a fine
sieve and use this base to add more icing sugar to, and as much water as you
need to make a thick icing that will stay on the top of the éclairs without
running off.

STEP 5 - Halve the
éclairs horizontally. Dip the lids, top-down, in the icing and put them
cut-side down to dry. If your icing is thin, double or triple dip until it
looks thicker. Spoon the whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a wide
nozzle and then pipe a strip of cream along each base. Arrange a layer of
overlapping strawberry slices on top and then pipe on a couple of small dots of
cream to help lid stay on. Repeat with all the éclairs and then put a lid on
each. Sprinkle with dried strawberries, if you like.